“No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, He will provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.”
1 Corinthians 10:13 (NIV)
When temptation comes, our enemy tells us no one has ever experienced such a hard thing. But this is not true. The devil’s tricks are not new; we can be assured he has recycled this specific temptation countless times.
We may feel as if we cannot resist the temptation, but the temptation is not stronger than the power God has given us to overcome. “The devil made me do it” may be a popular response, but the devil cannot make us do a thing.
When we are tempted, God provides a way out. I like to call it the moment of grace. It may be a split second, or possibly longer, but it is our defining moment as we respond to temptation. I have noticed it many times when I am under pressure to sin.
One of my regular temptations is to say something I should not say. A comment will pop into my mind and oh, how badly I want to blurt it out. Sometimes I say it so quickly, I hardly notice the moment of grace that is available to me. But if I will keep quiet for a few seconds, I feel that inner tug of the Holy Spirit saying, “Don’t say it.” When I yield to this moment of grace, I am able to zip my lips.
Then there are the other times. The comment keeps nagging at me, “Say it! Say it!” The quiet voice in the moment of grace whispers, “Don’t say it.” I fight within myself. I know I shouldn’t say it, but oh, how I want to say it. So I say it. Immediately I regret it, but there is no way to retrieve the words I let fly.
If we ignore the Holy Spirit’s voice on a regular basis, it becomes more difficult to distinguish the moment of grace in the midst of temptation; but as we obey the Spirit’s instruction, the moment of grace is easier to discern and empowers us to choose rightly.
God is always faithful. He provides a way out of every temptation, and we can find it in the moment of grace.